Reference Librarianship & Justice: Critical Interventions

Friday, March 8
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Happy hour to follow

Call for Proposals

Following the recent publication of Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice and Praxis, METRO Library Council, along with the book’s editors, is excited to announce a half day event that aims to continue the conversation. We hope to explore the history, application, and critical dimensions of reference services.

In the book and in this event, we aim to stake out and explore the terrain of a critical, social-justice oriented, purposeful, and engaged reference practice. How and when do reference and justice work overlap?

Reference services have gotten short shrift in recent years, collapsed into discourses around instruction or technology. What might we be giving up when reference services disappear? What other forms might it take?

This event will organize around three broad topics:

• Prison Librarianship
• History of Reference Librarianship
• Critical theoretical frameworks for reference librarianship (particularly theoretical frameworks drawn from activist and other modes of community practice)

We seek proposals related directly to the above and/or following topics, for inclusion either on a panel discussion or as a lightning presentation:

• reference services for underserved communities
• Reference services in nontraditional settings
• Critical frameworks for reference services
• The history of reference in the library
• The future for reference services in the library
• Archival reference services

Please apply to present by Friday, January 18. Accepted presenters will be notified on Friday, February 1.